| CONSULTATION PAPER
ON ISSUES RELATING TO REGULATION OF INTERCONNECTION FOR BROADCASTING AND CABLE
TELEVISON SERVICES.
TRAI today released a Consultation Paper on Issues
Relating to Regulation of Interconnection for Broadcasting and Cable Television
Services. The Consultation Paper draws upon the inputs received from stake-holders
in response to the Consultation Note dated 21st June, 2006. 2. The Consultation
Paper gives the background for the present exercise in Section-1. Section-2 deals
with issues regarding the amplification and modification of the existing provisions
of the Regulation. Section-3 deals with the new issues that had not been covered
in the Regulations so far. 3. The major issues that have been identified
for consultation in Section 2 are as follows :-
· Period of Notice for
disconnection
· Publication of Notice for disconnection
·
Provisions regarding Access to content
· Area of operation for MSOs
and LCOs
· MSO as an agent of a Broadcaster
· Definition of
payment defaulters
4. The major issues that have been identified for consultation
in Section 3 are as follows :-
· Methodology for fixing/revising Subscriber
Base
· Definition of a Multi System Operator
· Renewal of
Agreements
· Conversion of FTA channels to pay
· Development
of Reference Interconnect Offer
· Monopoly in the last mile
·
Regulation of Carriage Fee.
5. The Consultation Paper seeks detailed
inputs on these issues. The gist of the comments received will be posted on TRAI's
website. The full text of the Consultation Paper is available on TRAI's website
(www.trai.gov.in). The last date for sending comments is May 31, 2006.
6.
For any further clarification on the matter Secretary, TRAI may be contacted at
rstrai@gmail.com (Telephone No.011-26167448) or Advisor (B&CS) at rakesh.kacker@gmail.com
(Telephone No.011-26713291). The fax number of TRAI is 011-26713442. Growth
in Telephony Continues in April 2006- 4.60 Million Subscribers Added The
subscriber base for telephony services continued to maintain its growth trend
during the month of April 2006 also. During the month approximately 4.60 million
subscribers were added, which included around 0.73 million Fixed Lines including
WLL (F) and 3.88 million mobiles. With addition of 3.88 million mobile subscribers
during April 2006, number of mobile subscribers has reached 96.92 million as compared
to 93.04 million in March 2006.
Comparison of the subscriber additions during the
month of April for last 3 years is given below: -
2004 2005 2006
Category March April Additions During the April Month
March April Additions During the April Month March April Additions During the
April MonthMobile 33.60 34.97 1.37 52.21 53.65 1.44 93.04 96.92 3.88 Fixed 42.58
42.98 0.40 45.91 46.50 0.59 46.78 47.51 0.73
Total Subscribers 76.18 77.95
1.77 98.12 100.15 2.03 139.82 144.43 4.61 At the end of April 2006, total fixed
line telephone subscribers are approximately 47.50 million and mobiles have reached
around 97 million making a total of telephony subscribers in the country to cross
144 million. Gross Tele-density of the country reached 13.16 as compared to 12.73
at the
end of March 2005.
Broadband (256 Kbps download) growth : Broadband connections have
also started to grow steadily since beginning of 2006. During the
month of April 2006 approximately 1 lakh additional Broadband Connections
were provided taking the total Broadband Connections in the country
beyond 1.4 million.
December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006
April 2006
Broadband Connections 9.3 10 10.50 13.10 14.15 Monthly Additions
-- 0.70 0.50 2.60 1.05
(S.N.Gupta)
Pr.Advisor (CN) | 
